Spot the lamp...

I’ve had the idea to start a new thread to collect our best photos of lamps and lanterns as captured in antiques/junk/ charity shops and fairs... in situ, amongst all sort of crap! Here’s my first two photos. Spot the lamp! Ps. I couldn’t resist the TL106 as it was pristine....didn’t buy the other one as too expensive....

 

I’m getting a crick in my neck looking at all your pics Alex!

 

@Alex74 Is that a shop local to you? We call into the one in Lechlade sometimes, but never find anything. We pass the house clearance place in Faringdon sometimes too, but it’s usually a Sunday so they’re closed.

 

Yeah, me too
I have rotated these pictures now, just as some others before, but you need to press Ctrl+F5 to make the page read in again. Or whatever it takes to clear the cache on the thing you are watching the site with. Otherwise you'll probably see the same sideways positioned pictures you have in your cache after the first look.

Alex, when taking picture with an iPhone or tablet, make sure you have the "home-button" or its equivalence positioned to the right. Never any other position.
Otherwise they may look right when you look at it yourself, but for the rest of us, they may be positioned sideways.

 

Ok guys,

I realised there was a problem with the angle of the photos. When I upload them, they get automatically rotated to the right and then I can’t change it once posted. I’ll try and do as you suggest. And no, those photos were taken at the Hungerford Arcade and the Antiques market in Leominster. They are much bigger permanent venues than the Lechlade shop with better chances of finding something interesting. I visit regularly, probably twice a month. I also collect catalytic and vintage lighters, so these places are prime hunting ground.

 

Let’s post another photo of the Leominster antique centre. This was taken with the iPhone held upright so it should upload properly.

View attachment 70973

 

So, I have just uploaded the same image on a different thread (spot the lamp...) and the photo uploaded correctly. Here it doesn’t. Where am I going wrong? I’m trying to upload different image sizes but it doesn’t seem to make a difference.

 

This link shows one of my old posts and if you scroll down the page a bit, there is a photo of the inside of an old shed and there is a Tilley in amongst it all.

Shetland photos.

 

Yep, saw the green toroidal Tilley. I hope it was rescued before the shed was demolished in the 80s...!

 

here’s another ‘spot the lamp’ moment I had in Liverpool last week. I went over to check out ( yet another) second hand guitar, and on the way back I spotted a small antiques, curios shop not far from the city centre, and decided to stop the car and have a look inside. The place was filled to the brim with stuff....but Can any of you spot the lamp in these photos? ...I had to buy it if you’re wondering, as the price was too good to be true.

 

Yup that orange one is a rare one.
Lucky you that Drew wasn't there first.

 

Guessing that step ladder was needed.

 

Looks very original and complete, a lucky find!

 

What a find!

Cheers

Tony

 

Yep.... the step ladder was needed. Looks all complete with the exception of the Tilley OL50 decal, only a fraction of which remains. Apart from that, it’s all there I think. Problem is I haven’t got a clue how to restore and pressurise this thing. I’ll have to rely on the reference section here....

 

You are one lucky boy!

It’s a pretty straightforward Tilley fettle. Look through the donut posts in the Reference Gallery.

Remember to photograph it as you take it apart so you know how it goes back together.

You pressurise it with a bicycle pump that has the correct fitting.

Tilley OL50

Cheers

Tony

 

A bicycle pump eh? OMG! I’ve looked this lamp up on eBay etc and they’re asking for around £400. Surely it isn’t that rare is it? 1950s?

 

@Alex74 They make a lot of money for sure, yours looks at first glance to be very original. From your comments I suspect you got it at a bargain price...... glad it ended up with a lampie and being not electrocuted by some salvage hunter!

 

Why take it apart ?
I would fill her up pressurize it and check for leaks.
If not fire her up.

 

@Alex74

From what I can see it looks like it’s in pretty good condition. I’d clean it as it is in one piece, the seals for the control cock and vapouriser are standard and the ones in the filler cap are standard pump seals. The joint where the feed tube screws into the tank has a lead washer in there, if you don’t need to take it apart, don’t.

With the bike pump, it’s the older sort with the small attachment rather than the sort you get on your car tyre although adapters are available. I’ve found that small thread on a bike pump where you screw in the flexible hose is the correct thread to screw onto the cap if needed.

Hope some of that is useful to you.

 

Pump with a presta type adapter, racer cycle type. Just enough pumps to give a steady burn.
Don't leave it hanging with fuel when not in use.... gravity will allow the tank to drain if you have any leaks

 

Yes 1950s and not all that rare. The antique trade tends to value stuff by size though so bargains are not common. The pump attachment is easy. Just take the filler cap to a cycle shop and ask for a flex tube to fit. Other than the lead seal for the feed tube a standard X246 1950s service kit will have evrything to fettle it. You do have to make sure the control cock valve NRV is good on lamps like this which will gravity feed. That NRV is a redundant feature on most Tilley lamps but essential in the do-nuts. ::Neil::

 

Your luck was in!

That lamp could be as early as 1940, it has the short control cock socket and that was introduced in 1940.

 

Ah, thanks guys for all you valuable advice and support. I will surely make use of each single message you sent during the fettle which I started this morning. I’ve been made a ‘critical worker’ on call, so was at work last week and didn’t have time to start this project. So, I have removed the burner and everything is there. Have a look at some iPhone shots below. There is the odd spot of rust here and there inside the metal chimney but the original paint is fine even inside that. I don’t think it was used much as the guys at the shop told me it came out of the old railway depot and was in storage there in a box for years. I can see the lead washer in the tank, and the glass globe is a Davisil 182 and is intact. I don’t have a bicycle pump handy and can’t ask the neighbours because of the virus, so I’ll have to order something cheap on Amazon prime....if you spot anything suitable there, please fire away. In the meantime, I’m going to replace all the seals.

 

Thanks for the photos Alex, cheered me up!

 

And yes, it was a bargain indeed. They only had it in the shop for 3 days so I was lucky to spot the shop while driving, make the quick decision to stop and explore despite the traffic, limited parking etc, and browse. So I came back from Liverpool with a new (used) guitar AND this Tilley. Totally unplanned.

 

Here’s more shots of the burner. The mantle was un burnt but still falling to pieces and had a metal collar around it. The control cock NRV washer was as hard as a rock, so replaced that too with a new Viton one. The air buttons just unscrewed by hand, no pliers needed.

 

What a find Alex, love that kind of shop but there aren’t any round about Aberdeen. Just the kind of place that could easily have a Bretby vase hidden away on the shelves. Did you check the bric-a-brac? But no-one could be that lucky, surely?

 

@Alex74 The wire which holds the glass in place is fitted incorrectly. Looking at the third image of your last post, move one end to the unoccupied air button and the other end onto that hook.

Henry.